The increasing capabilities of mobile communications networks and mobile user devices (such as mobile phones, smartphones, etc.) enable the provisioning of more complex services to the users of these devices. E-Mail services, Web browsing, and even Web based services are available today for an increasing number of mobile users.
Many of these service applications include that content data is downloaded to the user device on a regular or irregular basis. Content data is understood herein as any kind of (multi)media data such as text data, image data, video data or similar data which are eventually intended for presentation to a user of a mobile user device. Examples of items of content data are advertisements, news, notifications, reminders, etc.
Often multiple such applications related to multiple content provisioning services of one or more content providers are implemented on a single user device. However, each of these applications is treated separately. For example, every single application has to be downloaded and configured by the user. Each application requires the user to configure whether and in which form a provisioning of content items is allowed, whether updates of the application are allowed, etc. This can become a cumbersome task over the time.
From the point of view of the content providers (which generally aim at providing an ever increasing diversity of services) each new service requires a considerable effort for establishing it. Consider, for example, a location-based service provided by a retailer's shop which presents a list of the retailer's goods on the mobile devices of the shop visitors. In order to introduce a similar service for the neighbouring shop, the provider needs a separate service agreement with the mobile network operator. A new service application needs to be installed on user devices, although this application may be very similar to another one that is already available thereon. A new user group has to be established for sending, e.g., advertisements, although there may be a large intersection between this and other, already existing user groups. These examples illustrate in which way the isolated treatment of service applications hinders the introduction of new services.